A Life in Music – Ruth Nye and the Arrau Heritage: Book Review

I was delighted to be invited to review this recently published, fascinating book which is a must for piano enthusiasts everywhere. Having met and interviewed concert pianist and celebrated piano teacher, Professor Ruth Nye last year, it was a pleasure reading about her life and her amazing musical relationship with one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the Twentieth Century, Claudio Arrau.

A Life in Music was written by Roma Randles, a friend, pupil and admirer of Ruth Nye’s work. The book charts Ruth Nye’s life from the beginning; describing her upbringing and musical education with her siblings in Australia, her work as a concert pianist, the importance of meeting her husband Ross, their move to New York and her subsequent studies with Arrau, as well as outlining her outstanding work as a piano teacher.

Arrau’s beliefs and teaching philosophies are noted in detail including many interesting anecdotes, repertoire preferences, and information about his practice regime. Ruth stayed with the Maestro many times, even accompanying him on tour. She was clearly hugely influenced by his wonderful coaching and warm personality, and this is portrayed very effectively.

There are tributes throughout from pianist friends and pupils including Piers Lane, Bobby Chen, John Lill and Terry Lewis. Another highlight is the inclusion of transcripts of two lectures Ruth gave at the piano shop, Jaques Samuel Pianos in London, called ‘My Time with Arrau’. There is a chapter featuring Fazioli, the Italian piano manufacturer much admired by Ruth, and other chapters focusing on her work at the Yehudi Menuhin School and The Royal College of Music. Also worth noting is the author’s question and answer session at the end of the book, where Ruth demonstrates in detail her own teaching philosophies.

Ruth’s unique talents as a performer and teacher are well documented in this biography and the Arrau legacy is of vital historical importance because of the maestro’s link to Liszt, Beethoven, Czerny and Haydn (through Arrau’s own teacher Martin Krause).

Hardcover: 146 pages

Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd (28 Sep 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1781485534

ISBN-13: 978-1781485538

£15.99

You can buy A Life in Music; Ruth Nye and the Arrau Heritage from Amazon.

My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.

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Melanie Spanswick hosts the Classical Piano and Music Education Blog; she writes about practising the piano, piano music and all aspects of music education.

In demand as a writer, teacher and composer, Melanie frequently directs piano courses and workshops worldwide, adjudicates and judges piano competitions and festivals, and has written, amongst many other publications, a popular piano course called Play it again: PIANO, which is published by Schott Music.

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A review of Play it again: PIANO Book 3 in the June edition of International Piano Magazine. You can find out more and purchase the book, or whole series here: https://en.schott-music.com/play-it-again-piano/

A String of Pearls, my first publication in the renowned Edition Schott composer series. This piano duet consists of five movements. You can find out more here, https://en.schott-music.com/shop/a-string-of-pearls-no405000.html